Every act of peaceful rebellion adds up

I woke up at the crack of dawn this morning with my stomach in knots as I scrambled to check my twitter feed and email.

It was five a.m. but I was wide awake; physically in Amsterdam but my heart in Russia where I knew that five of my fellow activists were launching into action at a giant oil rig in the Russian Arctic — a rig that I’m all too familiar with.

As I scoured through the first images and read the tweets from the Arctic Sunrise, it all came flooding back — the crisp, salty morning air on my face as the inflatable zipped along towards Gazprom's giant rig; the roughness of the rope against my hands as I hung on for dear life; the mean red face of the massive Prirazlomnaya towering over us, the David vs. Goliath metaphor more real than ever before; next to me, Sini's eyes peering out through the gap between her helmet and scarf, calm and clear and beaming positivity at me.

Sini is an Greenpeace activist from Finland, and her commitment to the cause runs deep. She is from the Arctic. That was not her first rodeo, and I was grateful for her calm; I found my strength in hers. No surprise then that she was the one to go back today, for round two.

Last August, when Sini and our fellow activists were there in the Russian Arctic, we had nearly two million people fighting alongside us for a sanctuary in the unclaimed area around the North Pole, and a ban on oil drilling and industrial fishing in the wider Arctic. That was just two months after our campaign launched. As I write this, one year later, our movement is just under four million strong.

That’s four million people from every corner of this planet who have come together to say enough; four million people who know that what is at stake here is far too valuable to risk. Who know that an oil spill in this fragile region is all but inevitable.

Having spent 15 hours camped out on the side of that monstrosity a year ago, I can assure you that the Prirazlomnaya is hardly an example of modern engineering. This ancient rig was cobbled together from rusting pieces of decommissioned North Sea rigs, which then sat rusting in Russian shipyards for years before being dragged, construction uncompleted, to where it now sits. Even now it remains in disrepair, as shown in video footage shot by rig workers and uncovered by Greenpeace last week.

Yet in spite of this mounting evidence and its legacy of disasters, Gazprom, and this very rig, is soon set to produce the first offshore Arctic oil in the world. Last year the company boasted the same thing, but shortly after our protest, they announced a delay.

That delay — and the "pauses" and cancellations by countless other companies with similar Arctic ambitions ­­— are proof that protest works. Proof that our movement is powerful, that Arctic oil is not inevitable and that these companies can be stopped.

Right now Sini is on the Russian Coast Guard ship again. She's a long way from home. She's probably cold and wet and tired. But she knows, just as I did when I was on that rig, that she is not alone. Everywhere I look, from Istanbul to Indiana, the tradition of civil disobedience is being reignited. Something is happening. There is a shift in consciousness, the one we hoped would come, where ordinary people everywhere are realising our collective power and acting on it. We're all part of it.

Kumi, change the direction of Greenpeace by concentrating on fundamental climate change research. Tell Oksana Boyko that you are willing to work with ...

Kumi, change the direction of Greenpeace by concentrating on fundamental climate change research. Tell Oksana Boyko that you are willing to work with Scripps Institute Of Oceanography and a similar Russian scientific institute. I would dearly like to have your e-mail address so I can explain precisely how that research would go. As you see from mine I live in your country of birth. I was investigated by BOSS in 1982 after the Olympic Games in 1980

I was investigated by BOSS in 1982 after the Olympic Games in 1980...............

what does this mean ???

Hugo BOSS, investi...

I was investigated by BOSS in 1982 after the Olympic Games in 1980...............

what does this mean ???

Hugo BOSS, investigated you ????

1980 Olympic Games were boykotted by western countries due to russian engagement in Afghanistan............. maybe the US and their alleys in respect of their actions that time should stay away from OL 2014 in Sochi due to their invasion of Afghanistan ????? !!!!

Sports men do a lot of training, preperations to attend the high light of their sporting life................... and then some political IDIOTS take decision of NOT participating in peacefull games !!! I am proud we today have the criteria of being brain dead................

But I think Sochi might be a very good place for actions of Greenpiss!!! Try to unroll your stupid banners during opening ceremony in Sochi !!! I bet 1 : 1.000.000 you do not dare !!!! Can I get an account nr. where to put my part of the bet ???

He could send an application to Red Bull.......... they like these idiots who need adrenalin kick like junkies...........

Greenfleece is...

He could send an application to Red Bull.......... they like these idiots who need adrenalin kick like junkies...........

Greenfleece is just ONE BIG PARODY !!! Now they have unrolled a yellow banner on top of Mount Everest !!! This truely will SAVE the world !!!!

I will see how many of these Greenpiss people will be in Court in Murmansk next month to give support to their "heroes"...........

Maybe/hopefully russian authorities also will ask some questions to this so called "Director" about his participation last year !???

If these "heroes" only get 7 years stay in their beloved arctic this guy at least should get 20 years being responsible for this nonsense. Today Sebastian Vettel became World Champion for 4th time ............using bensin from Shell........... Why there was no Greenpiss protest there ???

They are just common media junkies......nothing more !!!!

I really ask myself which idiots give money to such association ??? Can they really afford to have 3 ships, helicopters, payment for this braindead idiot, travels etc. p.p. only based on these payments ??? How naive people can be ???

I just was looking at some german medias......... Amazing to read about the stupidity of the "Director" of Greenpiss........... He was ask...

I just was looking at some german medias......... Amazing to read about the stupidity of the "Director" of Greenpiss........... He was asking for a meeting with Putin !!! How naive can these people really be ??? I think due to my engagement in a certain area in Russia I will meet Putin several years before he ever can dream about it !!! Maybe when Putin has resigned he can visit him in Home of Old People. :-)

I doubt this bravious "warrior" dares to attend the Court Session in Murmansk next month. But I will see because circus like this you cannot get every day free of charge!!!

But we soon will see if he has asked for tourist visa to Russia........ I think he cannot get a Business visa.........what business he has ?? Eco-terrorism ??? Anyway he needs an invitation for his "business"...............

This GP really is so ridiciolous I do not understand how people can give only just a small amount of money to these idiots...........

They ALWAYS are right.............all others are wrong !!!! Greenfleece knows how to save the world..............